Karl John (Karl Johan) Andersson (4 March 1827 in Norra Råda

Värmland Värmland () also known as Wermeland, is a '' landskap'' (historical province) in west-central Sweden. It borders Västergötland, Dalsland, Dalarna, Västmanland, and Närke, and is bounded by Norway in the west. Latin name versions are '' ...

, Sweden – 9 July 1867 in

Angola , national_anthem = " Angola Avante"() , image_map = , map_caption = , capital = Luanda , religion = , religion_year = 2020 , religion_ref = , coordina ...

) was a

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

explorer, hunter and trader as well as an amateur naturalist and ornithologist. He is most famous for the many books he published about his travels, and for being one of the most notable explorers of

southern Africa Southern Africa is the southernmost subregion of the African continent, south of the Congo and Tanzania. The physical location is the large part of Africa to the south of the extensive Congo River basin. Southern Africa is home to a number o ...

, mostly in present-day

Namibia Namibia (, ), officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country in Southern Africa. Its western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Zambia and Angola to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and ea ...

Biography

Early life

Karl Johan Andersson was born on 4 March 1827 in

in Sweden. He was the

illegitimate Legitimacy, in traditional Western common law, is the status of a child born to parents who are legally married to each other, and of a child conceived before the parents obtain a legal divorce. Conversely, ''illegitimacy'', also known as '' ...

child of the British bear hunter

Llewellyn Lloyd George Llewellyn Lloyd (1877 – 1 August 1957) was a Welsh international half-back who played club rugby for Newport and county rugby with Kent. He won 12 caps for Wales and captained the team on one occasion against Scotland. Rugby career ...

and Lloyd's Swedish servant. Andersson grew up in Sweden. Early in his life he went on hunting expeditions with his father, experienced Swedish nature and started a collection of biology specimens. In 1847 he started studies at the

University of Lund , motto = Ad utrumque , mottoeng = Prepared for both , established = , type = Public research university , budget = SEK 9 billion In 1849 he departed for

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, intending to sell his collection to raise money for travels around the world. In London he met with the explorer Francis Galton, with whom he organised an expedition to

Southern Africa Southern Africa is the southernmost subregion of the African continent, south of the Congo and Tanzania. The physical location is the large part of Africa to the south of the extensive Congo River basin. Southern Africa is home to a number o ...

. On

midsummer day Midsummer is a celebration of the season of summer usually held at a date around the summer solstice. It has pagan pre-Christian roots in Europe. The undivided Christian Church designated June 24 as the feast day of the early Christian martyr S ...

in 1850 they arrived at the Cape of Good Hope and then travelled to

Walvis Bay Walvis Bay ( en, lit. Whale Bay; af, Walvisbaai; ger, Walfischbucht or Walfischbai) is a city in Namibia and the name of the bay on which it lies. It is the second largest city in Namibia and the largest coastal city in the country. The ci ...

, in modern-day

. They then trekked into the interior, at the time little explored by Europeans. They intended to reach

Lake Ngami Lake Ngami is an endorheic lake in Botswana north of the Kalahari Desert. It is seasonally filled by the Taughe River, an effluent of the Okavango River system flowing out of the western side of the Okavango Delta. It is one of the fragmented remn ...

, but failed on that expedition. Galton returned home to England, while Andersson stayed in the area and reached Lake Ngami in 1853. In 1855 he returned to London, where he published his book "''

''", in which he describes his travels. He returned to

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

the same year. Back in south west Africa, Andersson was hired as manager for mines in what was then called Damaraland and

Namaqualand Namaqualand (khoekhoe: "Nama-kwa" meaning Nama Khoe people's land) is an arid region of Namibia and South Africa, extending along the west coast over and covering a total area of . It is divided by the lower course of the Orange River into ...

. However, he only held the position for a brief time, and continued his explorations. In 1859 he reached the

Okavango River The Okavango River (formerly spelled Okovango or Okovanggo), Also known as the Cubango River, is a river in southwest Africa. It is the fourth-longest river system in southern Africa, running southeastward for . It begins at an elevation of in ...

, an expedition that he recorded in his book ''The Okavango River''. After his return, he travelled to the Cape, where he married. Andersson and his wife settled in

Otjimbingwe Otjimbingwe (also: Otjimbingue) is a settlement in the Erongo Region of central Namibia. It has approximately 8,000 inhabitants. History The area was already a temporary settlement of some Herero in the early 18th century. Their chief Tjiponda c ...

(in modern central Namibia). Andersson had repeated financial problems. Even though his main interests were exploration and natural history, he often needed to earn money through trade and hunting. He lacked the money needed to publish his books and Galton declined to lend him any.

Death

In 1867, despite serious illness, Andersson travelled north towards the

Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...

settlements in modern

Angola , national_anthem = " Angola Avante"() , image_map = , map_caption = , capital = Luanda , religion = , religion_year = 2020 , religion_ref = , coordina ...

, in order to establish a better trading route to

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...

. He was unable to cross the

Cunene River The Cunene (Portuguese spelling) or Kunene (common Namibian spelling) is a river in Southern Africa. It flows from the Angola highlands south to the border with Namibia. It then flows west along the border until it reaches the Atlantic Ocean. It ...

, so he had to turn back. His condition had worsened during his journey to the Cunene and, on the return journey, he died on 9 July 1867. He was buried by another Swede, Axel Eriksson. After his death, Andersson's wife and children continued to live in Africa, in the

Cape Colony The Cape Colony ( nl, Kaapkolonie), also known as the Cape of Good Hope, was a British colony in present-day South Africa named after the Cape of Good Hope, which existed from 1795 to 1802, and again from 1806 to 1910, when it united with t ...

. His father published notes from some of his expeditions in the book "''Notes of Travel in South-Western Africa''".

Bibliography

Publications by Andersson

* * * * *

Published letters and correspondence

* Andersson, Charles John. (1987) ''The Matchless Copper Mine in 1857: Correspondence of Manager C. J. Andersson'', edited by Brigitte Lau. Windhoek: National Archives, Namibia. * Andersson, Charles John. (1989) ''Trade and Politics in Central Namibia 1860–1864: Diaries and Correspondence.'' Windhoek: Archives Services Division, Dept. of National Education.

Publications about Andersson

* * *

References

* *

External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Andersson, Charles John 1827 births 1867 deaths People from Hagfors Municipality Explorers of Africa Swedish explorers Swedish emigrants to Namibia White Namibian people History of Namibia Swedish people of Welsh descent